This invention relates in general to vehicle seats, and in particular to a vehicle seat arrangement in which a relatively flat horizontal support surface can be formed.
A typical four or five person passenger vehicle includes a pair of front seats and either a single relatively wide rear seat or a pair of rear seats. The seats include seat backs and seat bottoms. In some vehicles, the seat backs of the rear seats are pivotally connected to the seat bottom. The seat backs are movable between an upright position, for the seating of an occupant, and a forward position, wherein the seat back is pivoted forward to a position above the seat bottom. Positioning the rear seat back in its forward position permits access to the vehicle trunk compartment directly behind the rear seats. It is sometimes desirable to configure the seat back of a rear seat so that when the seat back is in its forward position a back surface of the seat back is generally horizontal. The back surface of the seat back can also be coplanar with the trunk floor so that a relatively flat horizontal support surface is formed. It is also known to construct a front seat that is movable to a forward position so that a back surface of the seat back is orientated in a generally horizontal manner.
To accommodate the seat back in its forward position, the cushions of the seat back and bottom are relatively thin and flat without much contour so that the seat back can lay flush against the sea bottom. However, the relatively thin cushions are generally undesirable to the occupant of the seat. Although the pivot point between the seat back and the seat bottom can be positioned vertically higher to accommodate thicker cushions, this has an undesirable effect of raising the back surface of the seat back when the seat back is in its forward position, thereby reducing the total volume of interior cargo room. If the back surface of the seat back is higher than the trunk floor, a generally undesirable stepped support surface would be created. To create a generally planar support surface, the vehicle trunk floor would also be required to be raised, thereby reducing the total volume of the interior cargo room even more.
It is known to lower the seat bottom to accommodate the seat back while in its forward position, such as the seat disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,931 to Kargilis et al. The seat bottom is moved both in a forward direction and a downward direction such that the seat bottom remains in a generally horizontal position. To move the seat back to its forward position, a relatively large open space is required between the front edge of the seat bottom and rear of the front seat because of the forward movement of the seat bottom. Thus, anything placed on the vehicle floor between the front edge of the seat bottom and rear of the front seat must be moved out of the way. Also, to have a generally flat planar support surface formed by the seat back and the trunk floor, the trunk floor must be positioned at relatively elevated distance with respect to the vehicle floor to accommodate the seat bottom and movement thereof
This invention relates in general to a vehicle seat and vehicle interior which can be configured to form a generally horizontal coplanar support surface.
A seat mounted on a floor of a vehicle includes a seat bottom having front and rear end portions. The seat bottom is movable between an upper position such that the front and rear end portions are at respective first positions, and a lowered position such that the first and rear end portions are at respective second positions. The front end portion moves downwardly a greater distance from its respective first to second position than the distance the rear end portion moves from its respective first position to its second position when the seat bottom is moved from its upper position to its lowered position. Preferably, the seat further includes a seat back pivotally connected to a rear end portion of the seat bottom such that the seat back is movable to a generally horizontal position.
A pair of seats can be incorporated into a vehicle interior to define front and rear seats. The front seat preferably includes a panel pivotally attached to a bottom portion of a seat back of the front seat. The panel is movable to a generally horizontal position such that the panel extends from the front seat back to the rear seat to bridge a gap between the seat backs of the front and rear seats when in their respective forward positions. The panel and seat backs of the front and rear seats form a generally horizontal coplanar support surface.
Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.